“The light of Christmas comes to meet us, inviting us to rediscover the newness that, from the humble grotto of Bethlehem, runs throughout human history. Drawn by this newness, which embraces all creation, let us walk in joy and hope, for a Savior has been born for us (cf. Lk 2:11): God has become flesh, has become our brother, and remains forever God-with-us.”
Address of the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Roman Curia
What’s next? We have just concluded the Jubilee Year, a Jubilee of Hope and an invitation to all Christians to realize that we are called to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” The theme for the Jubilee Year was given to us by Pope Francis. He led us, 12 months ago, into the Holy Year, opening the Holy Door at Christmas Mass on Dec. 24, 2025. We did not know at that time that Pope Francis’ earthly pilgrimage would come to an end only four months into the Jubilee Year, on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025. After Pope Francis’s funeral, the Cardinals prepared for the Conclave that many would describe as “surprisingly brief,” and on May 8, 2025, the world was introduced to Pope Leo XIV, as he greeted us with the words of Jesus to his disciples following his resurrection, “Peace be with you.”
In that same first address, Pope Leo remembered and thanked Pope Francis: “We can still hear the faint yet ever courageous voice of Pope Francis as he blessed Rome … We are followers of Christ. Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace. Thank you, Pope Francis!” Pope Leo XIV: ‘Peace be with all of you’
Pope Leo XIV is now leading us to the close of the Jubilee Year (in Rome, on Jan. 6, 2026), and it is reasonable to ask the question, “What’s next?” Some commentators have suggested that we will now see Pope Leo begin to set his own agenda and direction, as much of his calendar for the first eight months of his Pontificate was already “pre-scheduled” with Jubilee events and gatherings.
In his Christmas Address to the Roman Curia, given on Dec. 22, 2025, we seem to have received some (very strong) hints or perhaps even the beginning of a statement of Pope Leo XIV’s priorities. I have quoted the first paragraph of the Christmas address above. I encourage readers to carefully and prayerfully read the full text of the brief address. I also recommend, once again, the Inside the Vatican podcast and its Dec. 23rd episode in which host Colleen Dulle with producers Father Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Sebastian Gomes discuss the content and context of the Christmas address, also giving the listener some helpful (recent) history of the Papal Christmas Address to the Curia, going back to Pope Benedict’s address on Dec. 22, 2005. The episode can be found here.
As the conversation on the podcast turns to Pope Leo’s address, Father Da Silva focuses on and reads a line from the second paragraph of the address, as Pope Leo said, “… I wish first of all to remember my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, who this year concluded his earthly life. His prophetic voice, pastoral style, and rich magisterium have marked the Church’s journey in recent years, encouraging us above all to place God’s mercy at the center, to give renewed impetus to evangelization, and to be a joyful Church, welcoming to all and attentive to the poorest.
Father Da Silva says that Pope Leo is emphasizing what Pope Francis wanted to teach us, that as the Church, as disciples, we are called, “… above all to place God’s mercy at the center, to give renewed impetus to evangelization, and to be a joyful Church, welcoming to all and attentive to the poorest.” In the following line, Pope Leo states: “Taking inspiration from his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I would like to reflect on two fundamental aspects of the Church’s life: mission and communion.”
“Mission and Communion” — is Pope Leo XIV telling us that these will be his priorities? Is he telling us that “mission and communion” will be the focus of his Pontificate? It may be too soon to draw those conclusions, but he clearly took this opportunity to communicate to those who have roles of leadership and responsibility in implementing the vision of the Holy Father that he wants them to understand and appreciate the importance and meaning of “mission and communion.”
I listened to the podcast on the morning of Christmas Eve, and then I read the full text of the address on the day after Christmas, as I was preparing to celebrate our Diocesan Mass for the (local) conclusion of the Jubilee Year on Sunday, Dec. 28, the Feast of the Holy Family. As I thought about the conclusion of the Jubilee Year in our diocese, I had also been reflecting on the question, “What’s next?” As I read the text of Pope Leo’s address, I felt that he was helping us to answer that question.
During the past year, in conversations with our priests, pastors, consecrated religious, laity, and diocesan leaders, the question or topic of a “vision” for our diocese has been raised and discussed. The more that I have thought and prayed about the ongoing process of discerning a vision and identifying priorities, the more frequently I return to our understanding and appreciation of what it means to be “Missionary Disciples.”
In the fourth and fifth paragraphs of the address, Pope Leo refers to the Church’s missionary nature, “By her very nature, the Church is outward-looking, turned toward the world, missionary…” (pp. 4) and Jesus’ great commission (mandate): “Evangelii Gaudium encourages us to make progress in the missionary transformation of the Church, who draws her inexhaustible strength from the mandate of the Risen Christ. “Jesus’ command to ‘go and make disciples’ echoes in the changing scenarios and ever-new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization, and all of us are called to take part in this new missionary ‘going forth'” (no. 20).
I hope that most, if not all, readers are aware of that “Great Commission,” from the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel:
“Then Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.'”
(Mt. 28: 18-20)
“What’s next?” I am hoping that Pope Leo’s invitation to reflect on “mission and communion” as two fundamental aspects of the Church’s life will be a graced opportunity for us, as missionary disciples in this local Church of Paterson, to discern how the Lord may be calling us to focus and continue to discern a vision, aided by the “light of Christmas.”
